Many thanks to the Western State Colorado University students who crafted these Haikus during a recent environmental writing class. Some are inspired by nature and adventure, and others are simply inspired. It's always gratifying to return to the campus where the stoke began and see all the talent that's on deck. —MH

Life of a Nomad

Long ago we roamed

Over mountains and valleys

Because we were free

—Roger Espinoza

Winter Morning

Frost blanketing trees

Fog creating a quiet world

Nature, always amazing

—Julia Organek

Into the abyss

A place to fear the unknown

Mountains lie unknown

—Tyler Lee

Deep breaths in and out

Finding solace in the small

Things fall into place

—Alice Healy

All things are fleeting

Days come and go, seasons pass

Moments do not last

—Alice Healy

Animals are my friends

Is what six year old me said

You don't eat your friends

—Cara Leapley

Meaningful words lie

Your actions speak to my soul

Show me your ways, Troll

—JT Pickert

Patagonia

Where Shelby wants to go play

My red pen is dead

—Shelby

I go to college

It is fuckin Expensive

But damn is it fun

—Ben Wright

Basecamp sunset in the La Sal Mountains, Utah. On the drive up Geyser Pass Rd. the snow was bumper deep. As the storm blew out, spring settled in. But first we spent a night in sub-zero temps, a little underprepared for winter's last gasp.

Photo by Preston Hoffman

I live and play in Gunnison, Colorado, one of the coldest cities in the United States. With winter lows that sink below -20 on the regular and barely creep into single digits somedays, it’s the perfect venue to test out Columbia’s TurboDown tech inside and out.

On my first frigid testing mission at Gunnison's Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, the TurboDown's light weight stood out dramatically—it makes my other jackets seem heavy as steel curtains in comparison. But it retained body heat incredibly efficiently and deflected a biting wind with ease, eliminating the need for additional layers. The insulation features a combination of 850-fill down and 40 grams of Columbia’s proprietary Omni-Heat Insulation. The interior shell appears to be covered in high-tech material sourced from NASA, but to the innovative folks at Columbia it’s called “Omni Heat.” This thermal reflective material enables the jacket to provide more insulation and warmth than you’d expect from such a featherweight packable piece, but it’s breathable too so you don’t overheat. The ergonomic hood seals the deal and makes this jacket cozy enough to sleep in.

Being a photographer, I spend a lot of time waiting around for that one banger shot, and keeping warm during those times is one of my biggest challenges. From exploring the high desert in the early morning hours in sub-zero temps to capturing long exposures late at night, this jacket kept me dialed and warm throughout. The outer shell is water resistant (not waterproof) as I learned after spending several ours outside in a snowstorm. The shell is on the thin side to reduce weight and enhance breathability, so beware of rogue tree branches and other sharp objects to avoid tears.

The white colorway is a little too steezy and easy to stain for me, so I prefer either the graphite or black version. An additional inside pocket for goggles and snacks would be nice but isn’t a deal breaker. Other than that I was hard-pressed to find any negatives for this versatile piece. The pound-for-pound performance and versatility of Columbia's TurboDown jacket are its strongest qualities, and I’ll be packing it on all my winter missions. $325 | columbia.com

Words + Photos by Preston Hoffman

Simon Peterson slays some spring pow in the La Sals. April, 2009. We camped above Moab for three nights and more than a foot of snow fell in the mountains. The avalanche danger was "High" so we kept it mellow and milked some "hippy pow."

PHOTO JUSTIN CASH

A recent photo request brought me back to some images from 2009 shot in the Killington Stash Park a few days before the grand opening. Burton rolled out the red carpet and flew in legend Dave Downing along with Vermont legend Yale Cousino and up and comers at the time Hans and Nils Mindnich. Pictured here is one of the Mindnich brothers, for the life of me I don't know which.

Caption + Photo Justin Cash

Speed, beauty and determination are some of the first words that come to mind when describing 18-year-old BMX racer Mikayln Shaw. Add a heavy dose of true-grit toughness and top-tier talent and you’ve got one of the top competitors in the 17-20 Elite Women's Division. I had the pleasure of catching up with Mikalyn—who is a member of USA BMX and rides for Doublecross Bikes—this fall as she approached the closing races of her last amateur season. Read on as the Bailey, Colorado native reflects on fast tracks and riding with a broken wrist, and dreams big about her future in BMX as she turns pro.

Interview + Photos by Preston Hoffman

County Line BMX Track. Littleton, Colo.

StokeLab:What got you started racing in the first place?

Mikalyn: My older brothers were actually into biking. We went to a track one year for one of their birthdays, and I tried riding one of their bikes. It was a lot of fun, and I had just quit dancing, so…that’s when BMX just kind of took over (laughs). I needed something with a little more adrenaline.

What’s going through your head when you're at the starting gate? I try to keep a clear mind and not think about the race, and just go out and do my thing.

What makes for a great track? Any track that’s super fast. In Kentucky there’s a place called Derby City—it’s downhill so it’s really fast which makes it a blast. Nashville has a really fun track that’s downhill, too. If the track is fast, it gives me more confidence to do well, knowing that I can give it all I have. Some tracks just flow better all-around, and are a little smoother, but either way you just have to make the most of it.

County Line BMX Track. Littleton, Colo.

How do you adjust to different tracks when you travel so much? I visualize when I need to jump this, or manual that, and which is going to be the fastest line. At Nationals you only get maybe 4-5 laps for practice, so you really have to know the track.

You broke your wrist at the Las Vegas Nationals. How did the injury impact your season? Well, I was in a cast for like six weeks overall. But the race after that I raced in my cast anyway (laughs). It kinda sucked, but at least I was racing. I told myself, ‘I have to race, it’s in Colorado.’ I couldn’t exactly ride how I wanted to—but it was still fun. To me, it [the injury] just motivates me more and makes me want to come back even stronger. There are definitely some downfalls and hard days of course, but I just focus on not letting that bring me down.

What’s coming up next? Well I’m turning pro next year, so that’ll be a huge change. You don’t get to race as many Nationals because there are only Pro Series races, and females only race in the Elite Pro Series, where as the guys race in two different classes like A Pro and AA Pro.

Who do you look up to for motivation? My favorite rider is probably Caroline Buchanan, she rides for DK.

Is there one goal that you would ultimately like to achieve in BMX? I would like to shoot for the 2020 Olympics, which would be pretty awesome. It’s something that I have always dreamed of, so it helps me keep motivated.

Colorado for life, or are you open to living somewhere else? I would like to live [in a place] where it’s a bit warmer, so I could ride all year long, but Colorado is pretty solid (laughs)….

No, those aren't two really fat skis. Caleb Weinberg shows off the new shred sticks. Photo by Mike Horn

Our friends over at Romp in Crested Butte just debuted their limited-edition snowboard project by partnering with longtime Crested Butte local and storied shred Seth Weiner. Seth was the co-founder of Crested Butte's iconic snowboard shop "The Colorado Boarder."

A little background on Seth: He rode his first Snurfer in 1975 in his Ohio backyard. By 1977, he was snowboarding the Colorado backcountry. In 1987 Seth co-founded the Colorado Boarder in Mt Crested Butte, Colo., and a legendary shop was born. Seth says he and the Colorado Boarder crew "sold, rented, broke, and fixed snowboards for the next 14 years." During this time he also competed in the Rocky Mountain Snowboard series and judged many snowboard events. Seth still rides in Crested Butte and judges a successful season by how many over-the-head powder days he gets in the backcountry.

Seth = Stoked! Photo by Caleb Weinberg

According to Romp co-founder Caleb Weinberg, Seth designed this board to be an all-mountain crusher for riding fast in varied terrain, whether it's a blower pow day or chalky hard day on the steeps. Romp builds all their skis—and now select snowboards—in Crested Butte.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN CASH

We've never met a MacAskill edit that we didn't like, and "The Ridge" reminds us why. Danny jumps on a mountain bike in his native Isle of Skye, Scotland for this round of white-knuckled riding in the most beautiful and unforgiving terrain possible. So friggan sick. —MH

PHOTO BY MIKE HORN

The Monarch Crest Trail is revered as one of the best rides in the U.S. for a slew of good reasons, but to be honest I'd forgotten just how good it was until revisiting it in mid-September.

For one, it's rare you get to ride this much singletrack above treeline. After the initial climb it snakes in and out of the alpine, approaching 12,000 feet before plummeting thousands of feet into Salida, Colorado.

There are definitely some ups in between, but the downhill is so sustained and rowdy at times that your hands literally go numb. The Silver Creek section of the Crest is officially one of my top five favorite descents on the planet.

Needless to say the views are as breathtaking as the high altitude. On clear days, six mountain ranges are visible from the Crest: Pikes Peak and the Mosquito Range to the east; the Sangre de Cristos to the southeast; the San Juan Mountains to the southwest; the Uncompahgre Plateau to west; the Elk Mountains to the northwest; and the Sawatch Range to the north.

Mikey, Kent, Dennis and Ann on the Rainbow Trail extension of the Crest.

Fall was just starting to show its colors, especially at higher elevations. We opted to add on the Rainbow Trail at the end, and the nine miles of dips, drops, stinger climbs and flowy track did not disappoint. The Rainbow Trail is rowdy right to the very last switchback, and just when I thought my hands would fall off I popped out onto the road that carried us the last several miles into Poncha Springs and the truck we left in town.

It was nearly 10 p.m. by the time I made it home to Crested Butte after running shuttles and grabbing mandatory pies at Mikey's in Gunnison. An epic mission, for sure, and one for the memory books.